It is my pleasure to publish a guest post today by Ava Tipton, a member of our high-school apologetics fellowship. After reading chapters 14 and 15 of The Story of Reality by Greg Koukl, Ava submitted the following essay:
The Story of Reality by Gregory Koukl
Chapter 14: “Evil” and Chapter 15: “Wrath”
by Ava Tipton
I read Chapter 14 and 15 from The Story of Reality by Gregory Koukl. In these chapters Koukl asks a compelling question: if God is both all good and all powerful, how can evil exist? After all, why would a good God let who is all mighty allow for bad things to happen? Isn’t he known for being a loving creator who takes care of his people? I believe that this question is answered best by the following argument on page 89. In this argument Koukl suggests that a good god could still allow evil as long as there is a “morally sufficient reason” for it (Koukl 89).
In order to explain this point Koukl gives an illustration of taking his daughter to the doctor to receive a shot. Koukl’s daughter is understandably upset by this “act of evil” that causes her to feel temporary pain. Now was he a bad father for making his daughter get the shot? No of course he’s not! The girl is now protected from a great illness that could have killed her! Koukl suggests that in the same way he allowed his daughter to receive a shot, God allows evil for the result of a greater good.
At that point in the novel, I, as the reader, was forced to take note of my own humanity. There’s no way for me to see the history of the entire world. I have no clue how my life fits into the greater puzzle and as such I am not able to question God and his decisions. Often this is a hard thing for me to accept especially when he allows pain and suffering to come into my life. However, I believe that there is a good reason for all of the pain that I’m going through right now and even though I can’t see his plan I know that it is good.
Defending Your Faith 